The Mouse Needs CPR

by Shay Ward - University of Alaska Anchorage

What is the best way to recover from the warzone shopping experience as we officially start the post-Thanksgiving countdown to Christmas? Why, by partaking in viewing the classic holiday presentation of The Nutcracker, of course! On the afternoon of November 26th at the Atwood Concert Hall in downtown Anchorage, an audience was treated to The Anchorage Concert Association’s production of The Nutcracker-a performance based on the story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The performance is one classically scored by Tchaikovsky about a young girl named Clara, who amidst the holiday revelry, falls asleep and dreams that her sweetheart, Hans, transforms into a real, life-sized nutcracker, and they (along with the audience) embark on a magical adventure reminiscent of a true fairytale.

The Eugene Ballet Company partnered with local dancers from The Alaska Dance Theatre to tell the tale through dance of a delightful and sometimes frightening escapade through the Mouse Kingdom and the Land of the Sweets. The costumes, designed by Amy Panganiban and Lito John Demetita were as extravagant as you would expect of such a whimsical tale, yet not so much that they detracted from the story or the performance. The set design, by former Disney artist Don Carson, was enchanting, evocative of something out of a storybook. Set changes were often incorporated in to the storyline; the mice who crept in to Clara’s room when she fell asleep after her family’s holiday party transformed the bedroom set into the Mouse Kingdom while dancing and terrorizing her as the music ominously predicted the fight scene between the heroic Nutcracker and the evil Mouse King.

Although the story of The Nutcracker is one that is well-known, The Eugene Ballet Company did put their own spin on the production, performed in two acts with four scenes and a prologue. In the scene where the defeated Mouse King is dying, the company made it very comical and overly dramatic, even adding CPR being performed by one of the Mouse King’s loyal subjects in an attempt to resuscitate him. During the fight scene between the Nutcracker’s soldiers and the Mouse King’s, the dancers portraying the Nutcracker’s soldiers weren’t exactly moving in sync with each other during the choreography, but otherwise the execution of the choreography, done by Toni Pimble, was in sync with both the music and the other dancers (in the instances of group performances during the show.)

Korean-born Yun-Kyung Kim, the principal dancer who portrayed Clara in the matinee performance of The Nutcracker, demonstrated her classical training in her expressive performance of the young girl transported to a dreamland during the presentation. Conductor Robert Ashens excelled at leading the musicians in the festive score that accompanied the story. The Anchorage Concert Association, The Eugene Ballet, and all of the others who came together to present this classic succeeded in bringing the traditional tale to life for Anchorage residents once again this holiday season.

The Nutcracker Ballet

Anchorage Concert Association

Friday, November 26, 2010 at 2pm

Atwood Concert Hall

The Audience Whisperer

by Lisa Maloney - Center Facebook Fan

Pianist Alpin Hong’s Friday night playing wasn’t perfect -- but his performance was. Make no mistake about it: Although Hong has a clean, light touch on the keys that draws a legitimate crowd, he is a performer using the piano as a tool to reach your soul, not a pianist that takes a stab at performing. The result is a multi-note performance that engages each audience member on a number of levels.

Comparisons to Victor Borge are inevitable, and apt. Hong’s whimsical monologues are just the thinnest whisker off from stand-up timing, laced with honesty and edged with a frisson of joy and humor that can’t be faked. But they’re also unmistakably him -- too sincere and personal to be a photocopy of any other piano-wielding funny man.

As Hong points out, then punctuates with a hilarious story about Halloween, even a tiny bit of music can change your mood. And he’s obviously on a mission to prove that. Thoroughly comfortable carrying your attention by himself for the better part of two hours, using nothing but a piano and a microphone, he hits you repeatedly with the one-two shot of humor and skillful playing. Half the time you only see him in profile, poised over the keys. And yet nobody looks away.

Although Hong’s playing isn’t always technically flawless, he taps into the same mysterious source that great composers use to bring music forth. You can almost see him passing an invisible baton back and forth with the soul of the music, working the crowd over as equal partners, tag-team style. Once the song is over, Hong remains still until the vibrations fade away or he deliberately cuts them off, setting the audience free to applaud.

He then leaps up from the piano bench, ready to celebrate the shared experience. One expects to see him pump his fist in joy and triumph, and suspects that he’s doing exactly that on the inside. Whatever the source of Hong's exuberance, he’s ready to share it: In a surprise addition to his program, Hong brought 14-year-old local singer Grace Robuck on stage and accompanied her through two songs, giving her a chance to showcase a sweet voice far beyond her years. This highlights the gracious sense of inclusion that underscores Hong's entire performance: He's there to play with you, not at you.

Alpin Hong

Anchorage Concert Association

Friday, November 12, 2010 at 7:30pm

Discovery Theatre

Lost in Gypsy Jazz

by Charlotte Titus - University of Alaska Anchorage

On the night of November 13^th, the audience in the Discovery Theatre saw a performance by a group of three musicians who could have been dubbed ‘Nimble Fingers.’ They instead call themselves The Lost Fingers but regardless of the name, their fingers were busy that night moving through every possible note that can be coaxed from a string instrument.

Byron Mikaloff, Alex Morissette and Christian Roberge brought a style known as Gypsy Jazz to Anchorage music enthusiasts as they played through the two sets of the night. Mikaloff and Roberge took turns running through the fast pace of this style of music, displaying their mastery of the guitar, while Morissette was equally impressive on the upright bass, adding the deep jazz notes to the swinging tunes.

Throughout the night, Mikaloff entertained the audience between songs with stories of the group’s beginnings and successes. The audience learned how the group got its unique name as well as other stories of their beginnings. The Lost Fingers refers to Gypsy Jazz inventor Django Reinhardt’s tragic loss of the use of both the 3^rd and 4^th fingers of his left hand.

Originally a duo comprised of Roberge and Mikaloff, they performed an eclectic mix of styles when they first began playing together. Then, as Mikaloff told it, one night Roberge was riffing on Touch Me by Samantha Fox for his long time friend and inspiration struck. Both men being followers of Reinhardt, they began to focus their talent on this style. They eventually took popular 80’s songs, added a Gypsy Jazz beat and a completely new sound was born.

The Canadian group first gained national recognition with the album Lost in The 80’s, which resulted from their experiment of mixing Gypsy Jazz and popular tunes. On the album, they take songs familiar to American popular music lovers, such as Pump Up The Jam, Poker Face, Tainted Love, Straight Up and Part-Time Lover, speed them up and add a Gypsy Jazz style.

In addition to their impressive talents with string instruments, the vocals on the 80’s songs were strangely reminiscent of the original performers’ versions. Roberge, who sang lead on most of the songs, had an impressive range and beautiful voice, as was apparent when he sang songs in French popular in Canada. When singing songs from the 80’s album, his voice took on the inflection and range of the song’s originator, including hitting the high pitch emotive outbursts of Michael Jackson on their Gypsy Jazz version of Billie Jean. While performing the song, Mikaloff encouraged any audience member who felt inspired to join them on the stage and imitate the famous Michael Jackson moonwalk. Halfway through the song, someone gamely took him up on the offer and the audience went wild with encouragement, cheering for the sheer joy of joining in the obvious fun The Lost Fingers encouraged in everyone that night.

The Lost Fingers

Anchorage Concert Association

Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 7:30pm

Discovery Theatre

ASO’s Story Time

by Kyla Cook – Chugiak High School

Anchorage Symphony Orchestra’s “Story Time,” combined some elements not normally mixed together in the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts Atwood Concert Hall. Besides keeping the regular symphony buffs entertained, this concert offered Shakespeare fans a new view of Midsummer’s night dream, complete with actors Kate Norris and Cody Nickell. Even Harry Potter Fans could find interest in the Orchestra’s performance of songs from the movie. Throughout the symphony, the theme was stories. The audience was given a taste of music from four tales told in four drastically different fixtures: an Opera, a poem, a feature film, and a play

Cellos and basses paint the back drop for the first story scheduled for the night. Overture to William Tell by Gioacchino Rossini was an upbeat piece made especially interesting by music director Randall Craig Fleischer’s energetic conducting. For fans of the Lone Ranger, there was a special treat. The theme song swept a wave of nostalgia through the audience as the familiar tune penetrated their ears.

The next story, Afternoon of a Faun, gave a distinctly different feel from the first. While William Tell is a story of war, heroes, and faraway lands, in afternoon of a faun, Debussy tells the tale of a mythological beast and his visions of sunlit forests. This slow piece swept the audience into a dream like place, and even not knowing the story, it was possible to imagine nymphs and fauns chasing each other through a magical forest.

After the intermission, the audience was treated to a completely different kind of story. John William’s music, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Suit for Orchestra, was familiar to Harry Potter fans, and anyone who has happened upon commercials for the movie. This may have been the highlight of the night for younger members of the audience. As one young person pointed out, at the end of the concert, “It sounds so much better live!”

The final piece may have been the most interesting. Shakespeare’s a midsummer’s night dream brought together Felix Mendelssohn’s music, the Anchorage Symphony orchestra, the Alaska Chamber Singers, and actors Kate Norris and Cody Nikell.

At regular intervals throughout the song the lights over the orchestra were dimmed, and the actors came to the front of the stage playing many different roles, each with only a few props and their voices to differentiate between characters. For patrons familiar with Shakes pear’s complex story, the actors offered interesting insight to where the music fit in with the script. To audience members who didn’t know Hermia from Helena, the theatrics proved to be confusing, though still entertaining. While the actors were obviously experienced and added much to the performance, it was puzzling that the Symphony saw the need to ship talent all the way from New York, when they could have taken advantage of the abundance of local talent.

As a whole Anchorage Symphony Orchestra’s Story Time was entertaining, as well as diverse. It will be playing one last time on November 14, at 4:00 PM.

Story Time

Anchorage Symphony Orchestra

Atwood Concert Hall

Saturday, November 13, 2010 at 8pm